Runaway Star: The Interlude
by djenie
Summary: Attachment to my story, Runaway Star. This will be a series of stories relating events that occurred during the 7 months skipped over in RS. Each chapter is complete in itself. Not strictly necessary to have read RS, but some of the background may be missing. Dedicated to all the faithful reviewers of Runaway Star! Thank you!
1. SARA

**This chapter takes place a week or two before Sam and Jack get married in my story 'Runaway Star.' It's not strictly necessary to read that story first, but if you haven't I'd be delighted if you'd give it a try.**

**I hope you enjoy.**

**Contains spoilers for the S1 episode Cold Lazarus.**

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**SARA**

She was in the kitchen, planning their dinner, when the doorbell rang. It was nearly ten in the morning. Graham had left for his office some time ago, and the girls were gone to school. They were having guests for dinner that night, Graham's new partner in his medical practice, and his wife. Otherwise, she would not actually have been _planning _dinner. They were usually fairly casual about meals. But today, she was organized. There was even a pie in the oven!

At the front door she glanced out the side window to see who was there. Her eyes widened when she saw her ex-husband standing on the porch.

It was a few moments before she could move. Three years had passed since she last saw him, a strange meeting involving bizarre, classified events that were never fully explained to her. He came and talked about Charlie and regrets—and it turned out it was not really him, but a _thing_, a creature, shapeshifter... she'd tried not to think about it since then.

Then the real Jack came and took _it_ away—but _it_ was Charlie by then...

"It's not Charlie," Jack had assured her. And then he took him away...

_Just as he took the real Charlie away from her forever six years ago._

She felt the old resentment building in her belly as she stared at him through the glass. Her hand fisted against the door frame... _No, don't go there, Sara. It's over. I've worked hard these past years to get beyond that... _

Jack hadn't noticed her at the window yet, he was looking down at his feet, an expression of uncertainly on his face—apprehension. Slowly her fingers relaxed. She reached for the doorknob.

Jack raised his head when he heard the door opening. She was standing there looking at him, a puzzled expression on her face. Hers was still a pretty face, he thought. It always had been. He'd loved that little unconscious pout in her lower lip, and the smooth, clear skin of her cheeks. Her hair was longer than the last time he saw her. Closer to the way she'd worn it when they were first married. The color was paler, though—not so much golden as ash blonde.

"Hi, Sara," he said.

"Hi, Jack," she answered.

"Um... I hope I'm not disturbing you or anything."

"I was just planning dinner." Hesitation. She stepped back slightly. "Do you want to come in?"

"Thanks." He stepped through the door uncertainly. It wasn't the house where they had lived together, of course. But just stepping through _her_ front door was a small shock. And when he glanced around, he saw things that were familiar. A mirror that had been her grandmother's hung in the front hall. Through an archway, he could see the dining room furniture they'd bought when they married. He turned his gaze on her instead.

They couldn't meet each other's eyes. His dropped away toward the floor. Hers looked beyond him, missing his shoulder by an inch. She bit her lip.

A timer went off somewhere in the house.

"Uh... my pie..." she said. "Do you... want to come back to the kitchen?"

He nodded, and she led the way down the hall. There were pictures along the wall—pictures of Charlie, playing in the yard, fishing at the cabin—Jack's eyes clung to the images as he passed. He followed her into the large, pleasant kitchen at the back of the house. The smell of apple pie filled the room. He stood by the door while she went to the stove and opened the oven door, using oven mitts to remove the pie and set it on the granite countertop.

"It smells good ," he said. "You... uh... you make great pies."

"I'd offer you a piece, but..."

"No." He raised a hand. "Sorry. I wasn't hinting. I didn't mean..."

The corners of her mouth quirked up. "I know. We have people coming for dinner, that's all."

"Sure. I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean... or..." He shut up.

The silence lasted several beats.

"I can offer you some coffee, though."

"Yeah. Thanks. That'd be nice."

She waved a hand toward the kitchen table. "Sit down."

She brought the cups to the table and sat down across from him. They both sipped the coffee. She drew a breath finally and looked at him directly. "What are you doing here, Jack?"

He looked down into his coffee for a second and then up at her. "I came... um... to tell you I'm getting married."

"Oh." She hesitated. "Congratulations. That's great."

He shook his head. "I didn't come for congratulations." He explained. "I came because we still know... well... lots of the same people, and I didn't want you to hear it... y'know, as gossip." He shrugged uncomfortably. "Not that you should care... it's just..." She had called him when she married Graham, and he'd appreciated the gesture, on some level.

"Thanks, Jack. It was nice of you to think of me. Is she someone I know?"

"I don't think so. We serve together... _served_ together—past tense. I've been transferred."

"Ah, yes. The old frat regs."

"Her name's Carter. Major Samantha Carter. She was with me that night at the hospital..."

"Oh. _That_ night. The night that's never been explained, and that I can never talk about." She thought of the officer who had come to see her with nondisclosure documents for her to sign; she'd forgotten his name. "I don't suppose you can explain it now."

He shook his head. "Sorry." And she got the feeling he actually was.

"Right." She drank some of her coffee. "I do remember her... Samantha. Pretty blonde. She was a captain, then."

"That's right."

"Well. Congratulations again. To both of you." She said it expecting that to be the end of the conversation, shifted in her chair in preparation of rising for him to leave.

But he didn't move. Instead he gulped his coffee and avoided her eyes, looking even more uncomfortable. She watched him for a few moments. There was obviously something else he wanted to tell her. But, what...?

Oh. She got it—they were going to have a child. She felt a catch under her breastbone, and looked away, biting her lip, trying to get her breath going again.

He knew that she'd figured it out. "Sara..."

She swallowed quickly, closed her eyes for an instant, and then turned back to him. He looked miserable, as if he'd done something wrong, something deliberately hurtful. And it did hurt, a little, but not in a bad way—if that made any sense. It hurt because she was happy for him, and a little envious at the same time... She'd not been able to conceive again—she and Graham had tried for 18 months, despite the risk of her age.

"Sara," he repeated. "I'm sorry..."

She shook her head—he shouldn't be sorry. He should be happy—she knew he _was_ happy, _of course _he was happy. And he shouldn't feel sorry for her. She had Graham and the girls, Graham's girls, whom she loved as if they were her own. And thinking of Julie and Betsy, she smiled at him.

"Congratulations again, Jack." Her voice was almost normal. "I'm very happy for you. You'll be a wonderful father."

"I hope so," he said softly. He stared at her for a long moment, and something inside of him let go. "I still miss him so much, Sara," he blurted.

Without thinking, she reached across the table and caught hold of his hand. He turned it at once, and tangled his fingers in hers.

"I know, Jack," she said. "I miss him, too. I think about him every day..."

"Yeah. He'd be fourteen now. He'd look different." His other hand tightened on the coffee cup. "He'd probably be playing baseball on his school team..." His fingers clinched briefly on hers, then withdrew, and he closed down, the way she'd seen him do a thousand times in past years...

"Do you talk about him, Jack?" she asked. He shook his head silently. "You should talk about him," she said softly. "It helps..."

"It hurts too much..."

"It gets better, easier. I promise. It never goes away, but it really does help."

"I... I told Sam what happened... to him."

"Good," she said. "But you need to talk about _Charlie_, too, not just what happened to him. What he was like. The things he loved to do..._"_ She stopped, seeing that he was closing down even more, deflecting what she was saying. She gave it one more shot. "Tell Sam about him." For an instant she thought he was going to jump up and run. When he didn't, she gave him a smile and stood up. "I think I want to cut that pie after all! Would you like a piece? And another cup of coffee?"

She waited while he made his way back from whatever dark corner he was hiding in, and after a minute he looked up at her and nodded. "That'd be great."

**xxxx**

"I thought you were going to make an apple pie for dessert tonight," Dr. Graham Reed said to his wife as they were getting ready for bed. "Not that the brownie parfait wasn't delicious..."

"Mmm..." she said, biting her lip. "Yeah. I did make the pie. But then I had a visitor, and we ate most of it."

His eyebrow went up. "Oh. I see." Which he clearly didn't.

"Sorry. There's some left. I put it away for you. There just wasn't enough for everyone."

Graham watched her undress and slip her nightgown over her head. She was so lovely, soft and slim. He pulled back the covers and got into bed. After she went in and brushed her teeth, Sara turned out the light and snuggled in beside him. He kissed her, first her cheek and then her lips, and then settled his arms around her.

"Who was your visitor?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Jack O'Neill."

She felt him move slightly. "Really?"

"Yeah. My ex-husband. He came to tell me he's getting married again."

"Why?" Was that a tiny twinge of jealousy he was feeling, he wondered. He had met Jack O'Neill only once. The man was pretty much the opposite of Graham himself, physically, at least—tall, handsome, tough and charming. Graham was redhaired, freckled, only a couple of inches taller than Sara, with the pleasant, wholesome kind of looks that everyone trusted, but never ooh-ed and ahh-ed over. But Sara loved him. No, he wasn't jealous. "Why come and tell you?"

"I guess because I told him before we got married. I thought it would be courteous. Jack and I had only been divorced about two years." She paused. "They're having a baby."

"Oh. That must've hurt a little." He held her closer.

"Only for a second," she said. "Jack was a great father. He was a natural at it. He should have kids. We talked about Charlie a little. Jack's still so closed up about that. It was always his way to deal—or rather not deal—with anything emotional. Shut down. Don't talk. After two sentences, he wouldn't say another word about Charlie."

"That's sad. I've felt so much closer to you because Charlie is part of our family."

She reached up and kissed the corner of his mouth. "I'm glad there aren't any walls between you and me. With Jack, there were always walls. He kept his secret ops life in a completely separate place. It wasn't open for discussion. After Charlie died, he put him in the same kind of compartment. It's no wonder we couldn't talk." She paused. "His fiancée is in the Air Force, too. Maybe he won't need to keep so many secrets from her."

Graham stroked her hair. "So you and Jack ate the pie, huh?" he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"He ate most of it." He heard the smile in her voice. "He always did love pie."

**xxxx**

Jack had been way too quiet this evening, and Sam was worried. He got into bed before her, and when she came in, he was turned away. She climbed in close behind him, putting her arm around his waist. Usually when she did this, he would take her hand and press it to his heart, but tonight he remained stiff and still.

After a few minutes, she sat up and turned the light on. "Okay, Jack. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Liar. Something's bothering you. What's happened? Have I done something to upset you?"

"No! No, of course not." He rolled onto his back and threw his arm over his eyes. "It's nothing like that."

"Do you have a headache?" she asked.

"No."

"So what's wrong? And don't say _nothing! _ I know you better than that!"

He stayed quiet for so long, she had just about given up on an answer.

"I went to see..." the rest was lost in a mumble.

He went to see...who? A doctor? Janet? _He's sick,_ she thought in panic. "Jack. Who did you go to see?" she demanded. "Tell me!"

He uncovered his face and looked up at her. "I went to see Sara today."

_Sara? _For a moment the name meant nothing to her. And then it hit her. Sara. His ex-wife. "Sara? Why?" Why on earth would he go to see his ex-wife.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

Of all the answers he could have given, very few would have upset her more than that one. She moved toward the edge of the bed. "You don't know?! You went to see your ex-wife, out of the blue, and you don't know why?"

"Sam..." He sat up and reached toward her, but she drew away. "Sam, calm down. It was just a visit. We talked a little. She fed me pie."

"Really. You were—what? You were in the neighborhood, and just decided to drop in... After how many years..." She remembered Sara from that incident with the crystal people. How lovely she was. How Jack had held her close. What had he said to her? 'We were the best.' "What did you talk about, Jack?" Her voice had risen. She stood up, stared down at him. "How often do you go to see her, Jack? How many times have you _talked_ to her?"

"Sam, stop it!" He bounded across the bed, catching her in his arms before she had a chance to move. When she struggled, he just held tighter. "Stop now!" he ordered. "We talked about you."

"What? Why would you talk about me?" She squirmed, but he was too strong for her. She kicked at his leg.

"Ahhh... Cut it out, Sam!" He let irritation seep into his tone. "I didn't do anything wrong—and you damn well know it!" Sometimes her hormonal moodiness could be quelled by his own show of temper.

She stopped struggling, and stood in the circle of his arms. After a moment her forehead dropped against his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered, embarrassed. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You're pregnant—and nothing's wrong with you." He kissed the top of her head. "Now can I explain?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"Let's get back in bed. It's late." He climbed back over on his side of the bed and sat with his back against the headboard. After a second, she followed and settled beside him, her shoulder touching his. "I went to see Sara to tell her I'm getting married," he began. "When she got married to the doctor there—three years ago, or whenever, she called to let me know. It was shortly after that crystal alien copy incident. She was just being considerate. I thought she deserved the same courtesy, even though we haven't seen each other since that copy thing."

"It was the right thing to do, Jack. I'm really sorry I'm such a bitch sometimes." She rested her head on his shoulder. "When you went to bed, you just... well, you seemed upset. Distracted, I guess."

He was quiet for a few moments. "We talked about Charlie a little."

"Oh. I see." She slipped her hand into his.

"She told me I should talk about him... to you." He squeezed her hand tight. "About the things he liked to do..." He was forcing the words out. "How we played baseball... stuff like that, I guess."

"You can talk to me about Charlie anytime you want to, Jack," she said softly.

"I know. I will." He drew a deep breath, and she could hear the thickness in his throat. "I'll try."

"Anytime," she repeated. She cast about for a change of subject. "She fed you pie, huh? What kind."

"Apple." He relaxed a little and grinned. "You know how I love pie." After a moment the grin faded. "Charlie loved pie, too. Apple was his favorite."

She put her arms around him and waited, but he said nothing more.

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**Thank you for reading. I don't plan to post another chapter until after New Years. There's just waaay too much to do!**

**Happy Holidays, everyone!**


	2. Shiba Scream

**I hope you are all enjoying your Holidays!**

**This chapter is set in early November, shortly after Sam and Jack's wedding in Runaway Star. No spoilers in this one.**

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**Shiba Scream**

"I love my house, but it's just too small," Sam was saying.

She and Janet sat eating lunch in the SGC cafeteria. It was nearly two weeks since the wedding and Sam had been back to work for several days.

"So you're going to live in Jack's house?" Janet asked.

"I think we're going to have to. We've talked this to death. I want the baby's room on the same floor as ours. My master bedroom and bath are upstairs and there're no other rooms up there. The little spare room downstairs would barely be big enough anyway." She paused to eat some of her salad. "Jack's house has the master suite and another bedroom on the main floor, and two small rooms upstairs. We can put the baby across the hall from us. Maybe when he's older, he can move upstairs."

"Have you moved your stuff in already?"

"A few things. There's still a lot more. All my books. And I don't know what to do with my furniture. There's some I'd like to keep, but it won't fit unless Jack's willing to get rid of some of his. We've been debating whether to put the house up for sale or rent it out. I hate to sell it."

"I'm sure you'd have no trouble finding tenants," Janet said. "It's such a nice place. You could even put up an ad on the bulletin board here. Someone might be interested."

"Good idea. I'll mention that to Jack."

"Oh, listen," Janet began, changing the subject. "I was wondering if Cassie could stay with you guys this weekend?"

"Sure. What's going on?"

"Dr. Taylor has the flu, so she'll be out for a few days. I need to cover for her until midnight. I'll just stay on base, because I'm on tomorrow. Normally, Cassie could go to her friend Pam's, but Pam and her folks are going away for the weekend."

"No big date, huh?" Sam grinned.

"Don't I wish!"

"We'd love to have her. We haven't seen much of her lately."

"Thanks, Sam," Janet said. "Um... Kono, too?"

Sam grinned at the mention of Cassie's little Shiba dog, the one that Jack gave her when she first came to live here. "Of course, Kono, too."

"You sure? Because I can put him in the kennel..."

"Don't be silly. He's no trouble. I'll go get Cassie at your house when I leave here."

"Thanks. I'll call her and let her know." Janet glanced at her watch and stood. "I've got to get back to the infirmary."

"And I should get back to my lab. See you later."

Sam was just getting onto the elevator when her cell phone rang. She smiled when she saw it was Jack.

"Hi!"

"Hi,yourself," he said. "How's it going?"

"Fine. I was just thinking about calling you."

"Really? What's up?"

"I can't just call to hear your voice?" she asked.

"You can—but you don't usually."

"That's true," she admitted with a laugh. "Cassie's gonna stay over this weekend. With Kono."

"Yeah? Cool!"

"I'm going to pick up the two of them at Janet's when I get off work."

"I'm leaving here at three," he said. "I'll get them. That way you can come straight home and we'll have more time together."

"Fine. She should be home by the time you get there. I'll call and let her know. Do you and Cassie want to pick up pizza on your way home?"

"We can do that. Unless she has a better idea. Yours, of course, will be organic vegetarian."

She rolled her eyes. "Just don't forget the pineapple."

"Yuck. Yes, ma'am. Whatever milady wishes. Ooops, someone's coming. Gotta go. Love you."

"Love you, too."

**xXx**

They had a great evening with Cassie and Kono. The dog was a real treat to have around. He was very affectionate, and not at all a problem in the house. Jack loved dogs, and had occasionally considered getting one in the past, but with off-world missions lasting unpredictable amounts of time, he knew it wouldn't be a good idea. And now they had Sam's cat Gretel to consider. Kono and Gretel knew each other, because Janet had often kept the cat when Sam was off-world. The two animals got along very well, as cats and dogs often do, despite the stereotype. Gretel only hissed the first couple of times the dog invaded her space. Before the evening was over, the two animals were curled up together in front of the fireplace.

They ate their pizza in the living room as they watched a movie that Cassie had brought with her, The Princess Bride. Sam, who'd seen the movie dozens of times over the years, had given it to Cassie her first Christmas on Earth. The two girls quoted line after line along with the characters, laughing and competing to see who could get the most. Jack had never seen it, and at first had his doubts, but even he was won over by the time the big sword fight scene came along. He totally identified with Inigo!

**xXx**

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, and surprisingly warm for November. They packed a lunch and headed into the State park for a hike. The trail led into the mountains, and they hiked for about three hours up to a small, crystal blue lake. Kono trotted along with them, occasionally detouring off the path to explore, but like the well-trained dog he was, never ventured far from Cassie's side. They stopped on the shore to eat. It was considerably cooler up here, and there was snow on the peaks above them.

After lunch, they took a trail that led around the lake. Jack had been up here a lot over the years, and knew there were some fish in the lake, but he hadn't brought fishing tackle this time. They found a sunny spot to rest on the mountainside above the lake.

The view was fantastic! They could see down the mountain, the way they had come, and the entrance road into the State Park; most of the land in sight was Park land. Jack pointed out the Mountain Chapel, where he and Sam had gotten married. Sam and Cassie had never been this far into the Park, and were both enthralled with the place. In the distance, they could see several houses nestled in among the foothills, and Sam thought how great it would be to live out here.

Around two p.m. they headed down the trail. Days were getting noticeably shorter now, and the sun would be behind the mountains by mid-afternoon. It was nearly dark and fairly chilly by the time they reached the parking area.

Supper was Chinese take-out that they picked up on the way home. They were all in bed by nine, tired from the fresh air and exercise. Kono slept in the small bedroom upstairs with Cassie. Gretel had been outside for the day and didn't come in when Sam called her. That wasn't unusual. The cat loved the outdoors, even as the weather was getting colder.

**xXx**

Jack jerked awake to the shrill scream of an animal in pain. _What the hell?_ It took him a few beats to realize it was Kono, emitting that characteristic high-pitched _shiba scream_ he had heard often over the years when the dog was agitated or even happily excited. However, he had never heard it like this before! Kono sounded frenzied... it was as desperate a noise as he had ever heard come from any animal's throat! The dog was shrieking in what Jack took to be agony.

He threw back the covers and jumped out of bed, just as Sam began to stir and come half awake. "What is that?" she asked drowsily.

"It's Kono," Jack replied, heading for the door. He threw it open and was assaulted by a wall of smoke and heat. "Fire!" he yelled. "Sam! Get up! Get out of the house! Go!"

She was instantly wide awake and out of bed a heartbeat later, jamming her feet into moccasins. Jack had vanished from the doorway. She ran into the hall, calling his name. To the right, toward the kitchen, the smoke was thicker. "Jack!" she shouted again.

Then he was there beside her, shoving her down on her knees where the air was clearer, and crouching beside her. He had a small towel over his mouth and nose, and another in his hand, which he gave to her. "Get out," he ordered. "Call 911!"

"Cassie!" she cried. "She and Kono are upstairs!"

"I'll get them," Jack grated. "Go, Sam! Take care of Beanie!"

Oh, God! She instinctively put a hand to her belly. For a moment she had actually forgotten about the baby! She clutched the towel to her face, hardly able to breathe for the smoke. Tears poured down her cheeks.

"Through the kitchen," Jack said, pointing. "Stay away from the basement door. That's where the fire is. The door was open...I closed it but it won't last long. Go!"

With one last anguished look at his face, she went.

He watched her for only an instant, then turned and ran for the stairs to the second floor. The smoke was thinner at that end of the hall. He went up the steps three at a time.

It was dark and thick at the top of the stairs. He let the sound of Kono's howling guide him to Cassie's door. Incredible how disorienting the smoke could be, even in the house he knew inch for inch. Kono charged out into the landing as soon as Jack opened the door. "Cassie!" he called.

He heard her coughing and sobbing. "Jack!"

"Don't move," he ordered. "I'll come to you." It took him less than a minute to find her. She flung her arms around him in panic, almost choking him. The dog ran back to the door, keening furiously at them.

"Kono!" Cassie gasped.

"Go, boy," Jack gestured and the dog disappeared again. "Ease up, Cass. I've got you. Get down low so you can breathe."

He gave her the towel to breathe through, and guided her to the stairs and they descended by feel. Too fast. Cassie tripped and fell at the bottom, twisting an ankle, and began to cry harder. He wrapped an arm around her to support her. Crouching, they started down the hall, moving as fast as possible.

Beside the closed door to the hall closet, Jack hesitated. Everything he had left of Charlie was in a box on the closet shelf. He yanked the door open, fumbled inside in the dark.

"Jack?" Cassie whimpered.

There... that was it! He grabbed the box and pulled it out, grasping it tightly in one arm, the other holding Cassie, turning them toward the kitchen.

Flames erupted through the closed basement door with a blast of heat and an incredible roar. Cassie screamed as Jack yanked her away.

**xXx**

Sam could feel the heat drying the tears on her face as she left Jack and made her way down the hall toward the kitchen door. The smoke was overwhelming and she held the cloth tighter across her nose and mouth. The smell stifled her. As she passed the basement door she could hear the fire crackling on the other side. Crawling through the kitchen to the back door, she could feel the intense heat through the floor.

She reached the sliding doors, flicked the latch and fell out onto the deck. The night air was the sweetest thing she'd ever tasted. She stood up and rushed to the steps, jumping down them and running around the house toward the driveway. Yanking open the door of Jack's truck, she felt under the dash for the emergency cell phone he kept there. She pried it free of its clip and dialed 911. In seconds she had the dispatcher on the line and was giving her information. "My husband and niece are still inside... Please hurry!" she begged.

As she was talking to the operator, Kono came around the corner of the house, still keening, and ran toward her. She expected Jack and Cassie to follow, but they didn't appear... At that moment the fire burst through the wall at the front door, having burned through the cellarway, which backed up to the front hall. Kono's wailing increased in pitch and volume.

Lights were coming on in neighboring houses, and within minutes people were emerging. The couple next door spotted Sam in the drive and came running over. The woman had grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Sam's shoulders. "Jack and Cassie are still inside," Sam cried, resisting their attempts to pull her away. Shortly she could hear sirens approaching.

The dog ran frenziedly back and forth, to the deck and then back toward Sam. He wanted her to follow him, she realized. Just then the first fire engine pulled up at the curb. Half a dozen firefighters poured out of the truck.

Sam dropped the blanket and started after the dog. The neighbor couple called for her to come back but she ignored them and followed Kono. One of the firemen saw her heading toward the house and went after her. He caught her as she reached the back deck. Through the glass door they could see that the kitchen was in flames, the fire had broken through the floor.

She fought him when he grabbed her. "Jack!" she cried. "Cassie!"

"You can't help them!" he yelled, restraining her. "Let us do our job!" He forced her back toward the driveway.

**xXx**

Cassie screamed as the fire erupted through the cellar door. Jack dragged her back down the hall. Under his bare feet the floor was blistering hot. "Upstairs!" he shouted, almost carrying her along with him.

"Where?" she sobbed as they reached the top of the stairs.

"The roof deck!" He coughed out the words

Across the hall from Cassie's room was the small study that opened out onto the deck where he kept his telescope. He could hear sirens as they entered the room. When they emerged onto the deck, he could see the flashing lights. They were at the end of the house opposite the driveway.

"What now," Cassie asked, catching her breath now that they were out of the smoke, and looking around her at the railing which enclosed the deck.

The deck was built above the roof of the living room. "Over here." Jack led her to the rail at the back of the house. It was a slightly shorter distance to the ground here. He climbed quickly over the rail, dropping down to stand on the pitched roof below. The deck floor was level with his waist.

Cassie stared at him, terrified.

"Come on, Cass. You can do it," he urged. "I won't let go of you," he promised, knowing how scared she was of heights. She backed away, limping. "No, Cassie! We have to go down this way!"

"I can't! Jack, I can't!" She was out of reach now.

"Come on, baby! I'll take care of you!" he pleaded, holding out his hand to her.

She moved back even further; her ankle gave way and she fell to her knees, crying. Frustrated, Jack looked around, hoping the firefighters would notice them. There were none at the back of the house yet. "Hey!" he shouted. "Help! Over here!" But his voice failed as he coughed, and all he was doing was scaring Cassie more as she continued to back away.

Charlie's box was hampering his movements. He threw it out, away from the house. He reached up and grasped the rail with both hands and vaulted back onto the deck. Cassie was cringing by the wall now. Smoke was pouring out of the door they'd exited. Jack crossed quickly and wrapped his arms around her.

"Come on, sweetheart. We have to go!" He picked her up in his arms. "You gotta trust me, Cass."

In three strides he was back at the rail. Cassie clutched him, sobbing.

Just then they heard that keening wail again and Kono came tearing around the end of the house, his scream audible even over the sound of sirens.

"Look," Jack said. "He's waiting down there for you, Cass. Just hold on. Trust me."

"Kono!"

**xXx**

Kono took off running again, this time around the back yard toward the far end of the house. Sam sprinted after him—there was no way the kindly couple could have stopped her. The house was almost fully engulfed in flames now. _How could it have happened so fast? It must have been burning in the basement for a long time._

The dog's wail turned to a shriek as he vanished around the far end of the house.

"Kono!" Sam shouted, and a few seconds later, she rounded the corner where the dog had disappeared. She nearly ran into him. The pitch and desperation of his cries had increased and he was leaping upward, bouncing on his hind legs...

She looked up. Saw Jack at the rail with Cassie in his arms. "Carter!" he yelled.

"I'll get help, sir!" she cried.

She ran around to the front of the house, grabbed the arm of the first firefighter she saw.

"Ma'am..." he began, ready to escort her away from the house.

"They're on the roof in the back!" she snapped. "Get me a ladder! Hurry!"

He blinked at her commanding tone, but turned to shout to the men nearby. In scant minutes there was a ladder propped up to the deck, and a fireman was on it taking Cassie from Jack. Another fireman was there to help Jack down.

Cassie fell sobbing into Sam's arms as soon as she was on the ground. The two of them sank to the ground, with Kono desperately trying to be all over Cassie. Cassie hugged the dog and Sam at the same time.

"You need to move away from the house, ma'am." The fireman was leaning over them. "The fire's going to break out on this side any minute, and we need to move equipment over here to fight it."

Sam got to her feet. "The dog saved us," she said. "He woke us up." She looked around for Jack as the fireman lifted Cassie and carried her away, Kono at his heels.

Jack was sitting on the ground about ten feet away, holding onto something in his lap. His head was down. Sam went over to him and knelt beside him. "Jack? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

He shook his head mutely. "Not hurt," he said, but he was breathing heavily and coughing.

She put her arms around him. He put his head on her shoulder and muttered something into her neck. "What? Jack, what did you say?"

"The box..."

She could feel the object in his lap. "This box?"

"Yeah. I stopped for the box... and the basement door exploded. I almost killed Cassie."

"What? No... Jack, you got her out..."

"Ma'am," an urgent voice said. "We need to move you!"

Jack was coughing hard by this time. The fireman knelt beside him. "He needs oxygen, ma'am," he said.

Sam took the box from him and tugged at his arm, pulling him to his feet. With the fireman on one side of Jack and Sam on the other, they made their way toward the street. Despite his obvious distress Jack put his arm around Sam and held her close. They circled far from the flames and out onto the street, where the lights were flashing.

They were taken to an ambulance parked a short distance down the street, where Cassie was lying on a gurney with Kono in her arms. She was crying quietly while the EMT talked gently to her. When she saw Jack she sat up. "Jack! Are you okay?" She reached for him and he bent down and hugged her. "I was so scared... I didn't see you come down... I...I thought..." She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed.

"Shh, Cass," he said, rubbing her back and her hair. "It's okay. I'm fine. We're all okay..."

"Are you her parents?" the EMT asked Sam.

"No. She was spending the night. We're her... aunt and uncle. I need to call her mother." She looked around vaguely. "I think I lost the phone."

The EMT pulled one from his pocket and handed it to her. "Here, use mine. Afterward I want to check you over."

Sam nodded. "What time is it?"

He glanced at his watch. "Two fifteen."

"Thanks." Sam punched in the number of Janet's cell and walked a few steps away. She watched Jack as she waited for the call to go through. He was lying on a gurney now beside Cassie's, and she was reaching over, holding his hand. The EMT was checking his vitals and giving him oxygen.

Janet answered on the third ring. "Fraiser."

"Janet..." Sam started to cry, but managed to get out the most important words. "Cassie's okay, Janet. We're all okay... but can you please come..."

When Sam got off the phone, she saw that the medic had wrapped Jack in blankets and put in an IV.

"Smoke inhalation and shock," the EMT explained. "He should be fine."

**xXx**

In the thirty minutes it took Janet to reach them, Jack's house flared into a fireball and collapsed in on itself. Sam was sitting on Cassie's gurney, with her arm around the girl, wrapped in blankets given them by the EMTs. Jack still had the oxygen. The street was filled with fire trucks and equipment and Janet had to abandon her car in the next block. Cassie threw herself in her mother's arms and began crying all over again.

"Are you all right?" she asked over Cassie's shoulder as soon as she convinced herself that her daughter was okay. Jack was still coughing, but sounded better.

"We're alright," Sam said. "Thanks to Kono. He woke us up. Thank God for that scream!"

Daniel and Teal'c were only ten minutes behind Janet.

"How did it happen?" Daniel asked.

"We don't know," Sam said. "It started in the basement. The furnace maybe."

Janet insisted that they were coming with her, overruling Sam when she said they could go to her house. "No. I want to make sure you're all right."

"There's work to do here," Jack said, speaking for the first time since he'd comforted Cassie. His voice was harsh and raspy from the smoke.

"Not at this moment," Janet said with finality. "Tomorrow is soon enough." She'd managed to circumvent the routine trip to the hospital for all three of them by dint of her medical credentials. Once the fire Chief had spoken to Sam and Jack and explained that the officials would be in touch with them in the next forty-eight hours, Janet bundled them into her car and left, followed by Daniel and Teal'c. Instead of going to her house, however, she headed for the SGC, and very shortly had them in the infirmary.

"Now, _that_ was a dirty trick," Jack muttered, as the little doctor jabbed a needle into his arm and set up an IV. "I'm not sure I'm even allowed to be here without Hammond's permission."

"Taken care of, Colonel," Fraiser assured him.

"You called him?"

"I did. And I will call your office at Peterson in the morning and tell them you won't be in and why."

He rolled his eyes and was quiet for a minute. "Is Sam okay? The baby?" he asked.

"She and the baby are fine. And so's Cassie. They're sleeping, which is what I expect you to be doing shortly." She turned down the lights and pulled back the curtain to let herself out, then paused and turned back to look at him. "Thank you, Colonel. For saving Cassie."

"It was Cassie who saved _us_," he said. "By bringing Kono along."

**xXx**

Charlie's box ended up in Daniel's car and was brought by him into the base. Not sure just where to put it, he finally set it on the table beside Sam's bed. He'd seen her holding it and assumed it was hers. It was about the size of a shoebox and was taped shut. He tiptoed out of the infirmary, not wanting to wake the three sleepers.

About six a.m. Sam woke to go to the bathroom. When she returned, she noticed the box on the table. Turning on the light over her bed, she set the box on her lap and opened it, slitting the tape with a fingernail. There was a child's baseball glove inside. A small trophy cup. A stack of photos. A broken airplane model. A thin pack of letters. The first letter began 'Dear Daddy.' Sam put them back without reading them. She picked up the stack of photos. There were three dozen or so, all of a little boy up to the age of about eight. He had dark blond hair and Jack's deep brown eyes. One or two pictures were posed, the rest were candid snapshots; in one the boy was wearing a baseball uniform and cap and holding the trophy, and had a big grin on his face. A few of them had a much younger-looking Jack in them. She studied the younger man for a long time. There was a smile there like she had never seen on her Jack's face. Finally she put everything back in the box and closed it again, got up and placed the box on the table beside Jack's bed, where he would see it when he woke up.

**xXx**

Jack's house was a total loss. The fire investigator determined that the furnace was indeed at fault. The malfunction had caused a minor explosion, which spread the flames to nearby flammable materials, and the fire had gathered momentum in the basement for a while before breaking out onto the upper floor.

Sam and Jack went to stay in Sam's house. Jack set about replacing his clothing and other personal items which had been lost. Sam also had to buy some new clothing, since the things she used most often had already been moved to Jack's house. At least at Sam's house, they had furniture and household items in place.

The second day after the fire, Jack did not come home from work after his duty shift, and when Sam tried to call his cell, there was no answer. She called his office at Peterson, and learned that he had left on time. Finally she got on her Indian and rode over to Jack's house. His truck was parked on the street in front of the burned structure. She found him in the back, in work clothes and gloves, digging through the rubble. He stopped when he saw her and she caught a look of sad frustration on his face.

"I just thought I'd see if there's anything worth salvaging," he explained.

"Wouldn't it be easier to get a backhoe in here? Have someone dig out the cellar?"

"Yeah. Gonna do that. But the guy I called isn't available for a couple of days yet. I just thought I'd poke around, y'know."

She nodded. "I know." She pulled a pair of leather gloves out of the bike's saddlebags. "Let's go then."

"You be careful. No heavy lifting," he warned.

"Yes, sir," she promised, throwing him a salute. He almost grinned.

They worked side by side for an hour, clearing a way into the basement through the outside bulkhead. Under the location of the bedroom, they found the small safe Jack had kept in his closet. Jack hauled it out and set it in the bed of the pickup. "Guess we'll find out if these things are really fireproof," he commented.

Something glinted in the dying sunlight, and Sam picked up a framed picture. It was the snapshot of Charlie that Jack had kept on the wall in the living room. Miraculously it was unharmed except for some slight scorching on the back. Jack rubbed it off on his shirt and stared at it a moment before putting it in the front seat.

"I stopped for a few seconds to get the box of Charlie's things," he said. "The fire broke through the basement door. If I'd kept going we'd have made it out the back door. We could've been trapped there..."

"Or..." Sam said. "If you hadn't stopped, you could have been right beside the door when it broke out, and you'd both..." She swallowed. "Don't second-guess yourself, Jack. You and Cassie made it out. _What ifs_ don't count."

He stared at her for a long time, and finally nodded.

Just then there was a loud _meow_ from the back yard, and Sam turned with a smile to sweep Gretel into her arms. The cat rubbed her head against Sam's chin and purred loudly. "We're all safe," Sam said, turning to Jack. "That's what matters."

Their next day off, they went house hunting.


End file.
